Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
14.3.9 Heat Loss in Extreme Environments
One example of heat loss (or gain) in an extreme environment is in a fire, which firefighters
must deal with. As such, fire protection clothing and gear must protect against excessive heat
conduction and therefore must have considerable insulating effect. It must also protect
against radiation, since an open flame produces significant radiant energy, as was shown
in Figure 14.42. As water is used at high flow rates, the firefighter's suit must also be water
resistant. A typical firefighter's clothing, called turnout gear, is shown in Figure 14.50.
FIGURE 14.50
Typical firefighter's turnout gear. (1) Nomex hood. (2) Cotton T-shirt with department logo,
small on chest and large on back. (3) Suspenders with retroflective striping, connecting to the pants at eight points.
(4) Insulated pants with retroflective striping. They are held closed with Velcro and spring hooks. They are
reinforced with leather at the knees and bottoms and have two large side pockets and one smaller rear pocket.
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